Temporomandibular joint appliance

Abstract

A dental appliance for treating temporomandibular joint disorders that includes a U-shaped channel member having an inner side wall and an outer side wall. A plurality of connectors positioned between the inner and outer side walls divide the dental appliance into an upper and lower compartment for receiving a patient's upper and lower teeth, respectively. A pliable material fills the upper and lower compartments so that the grinding or clenching the patient's teeth is prevented and the patient's mandible can be set in a desired position.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A dental appliance for treating temporomandibular joint disorders comprising a U-shaped channel member having an inner side wall and an outer side wall, said inner side wall and said outer side wall each having a top edge and a bottom edge, a plurality of connectors positioned between said inner side wall and said outer side wall, said connectors joining said walls together and dividing said dental appliance into an upper compartment and a lower compartment for receiving a patient's upper and lower teeth, respectively, a pliable material filling said upper and lower compartments so that the grinding or clenching of the patient's teeth is prevented and the patient's mandible can be set in a desired position, said pliable material having an unstressed configuration and being compressible upon application of force supplied by the patient's teeth in order to form an accurate impression of the same, said pliable material being capable of substantially returning to said unstressed configuration upon removal of the force supplied by the patient's teeth, and a thin flexible plastic shield extending between said bottom edge of said inner side wall and said bottom edge of said outer side wall for preventing the patient's teeth from being retained in said pliable material. 
     
     
       2. The dental appliance of claim 1 wherein said U-shaped channel member is made of a thermosetting plastic. 
     
     
       3. The dental appliance of claim 1 wherein the U-shaped channel member is made of ethylene vinyl acetate. 
     
     
       4. The dental appliance of claim 1 wherein each of said connectors has a thickness of approximately 0.5 millimeter and is spaced approximately 10 millimeters from adjacent connectors. 
     
     
       5. A dental appliance for treating temporomandibular joint disorders comprising a U-shaped channel member having an inner side wall and an outer side wall, said inner side wall and said outer side wall each having a top edge and a bottom edge, a plurality of connectors positioned between said inner side wall and said outer side wall, said connectors joining said walls together and dividing said dental appliance into an upper compartment and a lower compartment for receiving a patient's upper and lower teeth, respectively, a pliable material filling said upper and lower compartments so that the grinding or clenching of the patient's teeth is prevented and the patient's mandible can be set in a desired position, and a thin flexible plastic shield extending between said bottom edge of said inner side wall and said bottom edge of said outer side wall for preventing the patient's teeth from being retained in said pliable material.